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Re: [UVAA] Staurday Night
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 16 Mar '04

16 Mar '04

Jim, You are lucky to spend so much time under the skies. It's been exactly 2 months since I have done any observing. I think I'm going to take the 15" out to Jim's place in LaVerkin tomorrow if he is home. My allergies haven't kicked in yet so I want to get out as soon as possible. The 15" Obsession hasn't been out under a dark sky since Oct. The good news is the weather is going to be good all week. I'm looking forward to meeting you. Do you know where you are staying? I think Dave and Kim stayed at the EconoLodge in Nov 02. It is pretty reasonable. It's right next to the Fairway Grill, one of my favorite places to eat. I guess you could say I'm a regular customer there. Anyway, stay healthly and I'll see you Fri. Debbie

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Re: [UVAA] Workshop
by David Trevino 16 Mar '04

16 Mar '04

I too would love for someone to demostrate and teach a few things. I fall into the newbie category, so I have lots to learn. I am in John's class, so I'll be learning how to grind my own mirror and building a dobsonian. I didn't make it to the impromptu meeting last Thursday night, but this coming Saturday my schedule is favorable (the weather forecast sounds good and I think it is also a new moon). --- Jim Gibson <jimgibson00(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > You know what I think would be fun is some evening > before dark meet out at the Pit 'n Pole or the > Gravel Pit and have a workshop while the sun is > still up. I was thinking of doing something like > this in connection with UVAA. Since UVAA doesn't > have regular meetings and I get all the meetings I > need at SLAS it would be kind of nice to see > everybodys face in the light and people can > demonstrate some aspect of astronomy that works for > them; just basic stuff. You know, bring your Subway > sandwiches and munch while for a while, nothing > really formal. > > > > The problem with suggesting such a thing usually > means the suggestor gets the job, and I dont mind > as long as it doesnt become a regular job. It would > probably fizzle after a while, after the willing in > the group had their chance, but what the hey. > > > > There seems to be a lot of new blood in Utah Valley > and Old Timers like Rich Tenney could teach us a > lot (he he he). Actually everybody ought to have > something that works for them and could demonstrate > it. We ought to be able to show how collimation > basics are really done with and with out a laser > pointer. We ought to spend some time (after the sun > goes down) just pointing out constellations. We > ought to show what sky chats work well, what > interesting objects are in current constellations, > what comets are around, asteroids, telescope > building, binoculars, all kinds of fun things. > > > > I am thinking that it would have to be on an off > weekend when SLAS wasnt having a Star Party and the > moon didnt come up till after 10 or 11 or > something. Or when the moon goes down at 2AM we > could meet at 2:30 AM uhhh. What? No taker on that > one. > > > > Just throwing this out to everyone on the list to > see if there is any interest. This could beat the > heck out of a meeting. Even Rob on Maui could come, > or better yet, Rob could through down some futons > and we will visit him. > > > > Jim > > > > > > > > > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam> _______________________________________________ > UVAA mailing list > UVAA(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uvaa > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com

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workshop
by J Waterreus 15 Mar '04

15 Mar '04

My 13 year old daughter and I joined your group last fall, but so far we have just been lingering. We have a telescope but don't know how to use it, so we get frustrated. We would love to participate in a workshop that will teach us what we need to know to get started. My daughter has a tremendous interest in astronomy and wants to study it in college. We'd love to get involved with your group, if you don't mind a couple of beginners tagging along! I think my husband and 16 year old daughter might decide to join us as well. Dottie Waterreus

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The rest of the story
by Jim Gibson 15 Mar '04

15 Mar '04

We all know that the Spirit rover has had some problems, but check out this site for what really happened: http://images.spaceref.com/news/2004/rover.armspin.mov Jim Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam

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Re: [UVAA] Workshop
by Richard Tenney 15 Mar '04

15 Mar '04

I'd be happy to attend and help out however I can. I certainly do fit the "old timer" category, though don't set your expectations too high regarding my usefulness or astro-saavy. ;o) I'm going to leave this to Jim to plan it, but count me in... Rich --- Jim Gibson <jimgibson00(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > You know what I think would be fun is some evening > before dark meet out at the Pit 'n Pole or the > Gravel Pit and have a workshop while the sun is > still up. I was thinking of doing something like > this in connection with UVAA. Since UVAA doesn't > have regular meetings and I get all the meetings I > need at SLAS it would be kind of nice to see > everybodys face in the light and people can > demonstrate some aspect of astronomy that works for > them; just basic stuff. You know, bring your Subway > sandwiches and munch while for a while, nothing > really formal. > > > > The problem with suggesting such a thing usually > means the suggestor gets the job, and I dont mind > as long as it doesnt become a regular job. It would > probably fizzle after a while, after the willing in > the group had their chance, but what the hey. > > > > There seems to be a lot of new blood in Utah Valley > and Old Timers like Rich Tenney could teach us a > lot (he he he). Actually everybody ought to have > something that works for them and could demonstrate > it. We ought to be able to show how collimation > basics are really done with and with out a laser > pointer. We ought to spend some time (after the sun > goes down) just pointing out constellations. We > ought to show what sky chats work well, what > interesting objects are in current constellations, > what comets are around, asteroids, telescope > building, binoculars, all kinds of fun things. > > > > I am thinking that it would have to be on an off > weekend when SLAS wasnt having a Star Party and the > moon didnt come up till after 10 or 11 or > something. Or when the moon goes down at 2AM we > could meet at 2:30 AM uhhh. What? No taker on that > one. > > > > Just throwing this out to everyone on the list to > see if there is any interest. This could beat the > heck out of a meeting. Even Rob on Maui could come, > or better yet, Rob could through down some futons > and we will visit him. > > > > Jim > > > > > > > > > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam> _______________________________________________ > UVAA mailing list > UVAA(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uvaa > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [UVAA] Workshop
by JOHN K LUNDWALL 15 Mar '04

15 Mar '04

Hey Jim This is John Lundwall. (BYW my last name is spelled "Lundwall"). I just wanted to thank you for, well, frankly, many things: 1. How great you were to show me your scopes and equipment, and how willing you were to share them with me. 2. How patient you were in showing me different sky objects, where and how to look. 3. Letting your laser pointer out so that Mike and Lisa could show me many of the constellations and different stars. 4. Your great report of the evening I even enjoyed. 5. The great cd rom you gave me; I am just now getting into it. I am on the email list of UVAA and that is how I get your emails. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone else's email addresses so I can't really thank Mike and Bob and Tom for their willingness to show me their stuff and look through their scopes. I am a newbee and I feel kind of bad showing up and using other people's equipment without contributing anything I have. I fear that is the way it is for a while until I get my scope built (end of summer) and even then I am going to be utterly dependent, I am realizing, on everyone else's knowledge of the sky, as in fact I haven't any idea where to locate the eskimo nebula, or any of the "m" objects that you guys seem to zip right to. I hope I can contribute in other ways until I am up to speed. I also am going to ask you for more of your generosity and see if you know the other's emails so I can also thank them. If you could email them to me or forward this note to them. I really appreciated how friendly everyone was. It has made me all the more excited to go star watching and really get into this hobby. I have decided that I need the following: A. A telescope--making a 10" dobson. B. A laser thingy just like Jim's. C. A pair of binoc's just like Tom's. D. An infared camera just like Bob's. E. An astronomer's torture chair just like Mike's. I have also decided to cut the cost of these items (I.e. not buying scrapbooking supplies in kind) by showing my lovely wife how all of these items can be used for scrapbooking. I have told her that she can rubber stamp on my telescope all she wants, she can use the laser thingy to burn nice floral images into her background papers, she can use the binoc's to steal a peak through a neighbor's window to see what they are scrapbooking, she can use the infared camera to take really cool night time pictures to scrapbook, and she can use the torture chair for our own private, scrapbooking sessions. Not to mention the toll painting possibilities. Hopefully she'll bite. I love your idea of showing up early for some training lessons and just to gather. I am in. While I cannot tell anyone, yet, how to callimnate their scopes, or where to locate M105-3bc-wherethehellisiteskimopie; or really any other thing dealing with the actual physics of astronomy, I would be happy to talk about some of the things I do know in some future session--I.e. the mythology and esoteric cosmology of some ancient cultures and at times, what this may mean for modern culture. This is a field that very few people may not be interested in, though I have been fascinated by the subject for several years. For example, not many people really know that the image of the Creator God has changed through time. In very ancient times, the creator God was symbolized by the bull or cow, and images of the bull dominate Egypt and Sumeria. This image slowly changed into that of the ram or lamb, and it was the Hebrews that represented the Creator God as the Paschal Lamb or sacrificial lamb or lamb of God, complete with it's shepherd imagery. Even this changed over time so that by the time one Jesus Christ was born the image of this Savior was turned into a fish, and even today we see the name "Jesus" circumscribed by a fish on the backs of many cars driving on the highway. Why this allegorical evolution? Because in fact the motif of the Creator God has ALWAYS been represented by the equinox sun rising in the zodiacal constellation housing it in spring. Taurus in ancient times held the spring equinox sun, but due to the precession of the equinoxes, this constellation phased out and Aires, the Ram or Lamb replaced it, and in turn this precessed out to Pisces the Fish. Well, you get the sort of thing that I know a little bit about. I would be happy to discuss such things if there are any takers. In anycase, hope to see you soon. Next time I will dress warm and will stay up past 3 am if that is what is required. Your new friend John Lundwall ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Gibson<mailto:jimgibson00@yahoo.com> To: UVAA List<mailto:uvaa@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 9:32 AM Subject: [UVAA] Workshop You know what I think would be fun is some evening before dark meet out at the Pit 'n Pole or the Gravel Pit and have a workshop while the sun is still up. I was thinking of doing something like this in connection with UVAA. Since UVAA doesn't have regular meetings and I get all the meetings I need at SLAS it would be kind of nice to see everybodys face in the light and people can demonstrate some aspect of astronomy that works for them; just basic stuff. You know, bring your Subway sandwiches and munch while for a while, nothing really formal. The problem with suggesting such a thing usually means the suggestor gets the job, and I dont mind as long as it doesnt become a regular job. It would probably fizzle after a while, after the willing in the group had their chance, but what the hey. There seems to be a lot of new blood in Utah Valley and Old Timers like Rich Tenney could teach us a lot (he he he). Actually everybody ought to have something that works for them and could demonstrate it. We ought to be able to show how collimation basics are really done with and with out a laser pointer. We ought to spend some time (after the sun goes down) just pointing out constellations. We ought to show what sky chats work well, what interesting objects are in current constellations, what comets are around, asteroids, telescope building, binoculars, all kinds of fun things. I am thinking that it would have to be on an off weekend when SLAS wasnt having a Star Party and the moon didnt come up till after 10 or 11 or something. Or when the moon goes down at 2AM we could meet at 2:30 AM uhhh. What? No taker on that one. Just throwing this out to everyone on the list to see if there is any interest. This could beat the heck out of a meeting. Even Rob on Maui could come, or better yet, Rob could through down some futons and we will visit him. Jim Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mailtag_us/*http://mail.yahoo.com> - More reliable, more storage, less spam_______________________________________________ UVAA mailing list UVAA(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uvaa

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RE: [UVAA] Impromptu Star Party Thursday night
by Griffin Louis A Civ OO-ALC/MAKGBA 15 Mar '04

15 Mar '04

Rich, I would be up for a trip to the gravel pit - Please let me know if you are going. -----Original Message----- From: uvaa-bounces+louis.griffin=hill.af.mil(a)mailman.xmission.com [mailto:uvaa-bounces+louis.griffin=hill.af.mil@mailman.xmission.com]On Behalf Of Richard Tenney Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 10:09 AM To: Utah Valley Astronomy Association Subject: Re: [UVAA] Impromptu Star Party Thursday night Jim, Nice report, wish I had the time last night to join y'all; had a previous appointment I couldn't break, and didn't get home until 10pm. I can't go down to St. George next weekend, but I may try the gravel pit in a week (Friday) if the weather is favorable. Rich --- Jim Gibson <jimgibson00(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > The impromptu little gathering we had last night > turned into somewhat of a bigger event. Mike Bailey > and Bob Taylor decided to go out Thursday night and > 7 additional people show up. Two of them are new > guys, and one of the two is taking a telescope > making class from John Zeigler and is building a 10" > Dobson. > > > > I didn't really want to take all of my stuff but I > ended up taking my bino/parallelogram combo, the > Orion ED80, and my Dobson. Bob Taylor was > interested in the parallelogram and wants to build > one himself. > > > > The sun had just gone down as we arrived at the Pit > 'n Pole. There was a slight breeze from the north so > we lined up our cars and mad a wind break that > worked really well. Tom Watson set up his Celestron > NextStar 11GPS scope. Next in line I had my 12.5" > Dobson, with bions and Orion 80ED behind. Mike > Bailey set up his 15" Dobson truss tube mount that > he just finished over the winter and although he set > it up in his driveway a couple of times, we didn't > count that, so he had "first light" at our little > party and we all got to check it out. Bob Taylor set > up his 10" Orion, and John Zeigler set up I think it > was a 12.5" truss tube Dobson. John Lundwald and a > fellow named Jeff (forgot his last name) didn't have > scopes yet. So that was the layout. > > > > The evening began with collimation duties. We > showed John Lundwald how to find the concentric > circles through an open focuser. After we tweaked > every thing as best we could we followed up with the > laser collimation tool for good measure. By the time > we got through with collimation of all the scopes it > was good and dark. > > > > The only trouble I had during the evening was > finding the eyepiece I wanted only to find that it > had been pressed into service on the Orion. I kept > the 9mm in my pocket but I was left with going from > 22mm to 9mm a jump I had not anticipated. > > > > I had the 13mm Nagler on the 12.5" Dobson for a > while and while looking at Jupiter I thought I could > see the red swirl in one of the bands, but when I > went to the 9mm I couldn't see it. > > > > The Cassini division was very crisp on Saturn with > the 9mm and the small shadow on the ring behind > Satrun was very apparent. > > > > >From there things were really fun. Tom, Mike, Bob, > and John were finding all these great objects and we > just went from one telescope to another gawking at > things. > > > > Tom Watson helped me locate NGC 2392 (Eskimo) > nebula. Tom punched in the NGC number in his hand > control and before I could walk over to his scope it > was on it. Tom Grinned. Since I didn't find it > right off in my own scope I checked to see where his > red dot finder was pointing and even at that it took > me an inordinate amount of time to locate it. I > chalked it up to winter rustiness. > > > > I asked if anyone had ever seen color in any of the > deep sky objects. John Zeigler commented that he > could detect a very slight greenish tint in M42, the > Orion nebula. We all looked at it in his Brent > Watson class truss tube Dobson. Other people could > see it, but I didn't either recognize it for lack of > comparison with other objects or I just couldn't > distinguish it. We all paused to see how many stars > we could see in the spiral asterism west of Polaris > that goes in magnitude 4.2, 4.7, 5.2, 5.6, 6.2, 6.7, > and 7.2. I could only see down to 5.2 but Lisa > Zeigler's young eyes could see at least down to 6.2 > if not better. So we could say that the seeing was > good, but Tom Watson noted that it wasn't especially > steady. > > > > One of the things that everybody seemed to enjoy was > the green laser pointer. It saw heavy duty all > night. Even when John Zeigler got lost trying to > find the road out in the dark, the laser pointer > seared a line to the spot. I don't know Lisa > Zeigler's background, but she displayed an amazing > knowledge of the sky and traced a line around many > of the constallations. John Lundwald doesn't know > the sky yet but he knows the mythology behind each > constellation. > > > > We thought that the moon was going to be the > limiting factor due to come up after midnight, but > as it turned out the dew did us in. By about 10 > O'clock the temperature had dropped into the 20s and > dew started forming on everything. People started > packing up and leaving, but Bob, Mike, Tom, and I > held out tell 11PM. We were engaged in trying to > locate M104 when the dew just got to bee too much. > We did find NGC 4565, which is always a treat. > > > > All in all it was a really fun evening and all the > excitement for the first outing of the year after a > long cloudy winter was apparent. As they say, a good > time was had by all. > > > > Jim > > > > --------------------------------- > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Search - Find what you're looking for faster.> _______________________________________________ > UVAA mailing list > UVAA(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uvaa > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Search - Find what you're looking for faster http://search.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ UVAA mailing list UVAA(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uvaa

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Re: [UVAA] Moon Watch
by David Trevino 15 Mar '04

15 Mar '04

If you take Provo's Center street exit, and go west, then at the second light (Geneva Road) take a right, there is a park about 3 blocks from the intersection. Would that count as accessible? --- Jim Gibson <jimgibson00(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > I am looking for suggestions for a site in Utah > Valley that would be a good site to host a Moon > Watch and work shop. I would think a site near > Provo/Orem/Springville would be central to the > valley and it needs to be easy access as well. > > > > I thought of a site in Orem on 8th North near the > cemetery. There is a big grassy field there and no > lights, but it probably doesnt meet the easy access > requirement for people unfamiliar with Orem. > > > > If anybody knows a good site, then I can move on to > the next step of figuring out when. > > > > Jim > > > Do you Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam> _______________________________________________ > UVAA mailing list > UVAA(a)mailman.xmission.com > http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uvaa > __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - More reliable, more storage, less spam http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [UVAA] Staurday Night
by UTAHDEB＠aol.com 15 Mar '04

15 Mar '04

Jim, How was the Saturday night observing? I've been sidelined with a cold but I may try to get out next week. The weather in St. George is too warm. It was 80 degrees today. We had to turn on the air-conditioning in the car today. I don't like it this warm in mid-March. Debbie

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Re: [UVAA] John's new passion
by JOHN K LUNDWALL 14 Mar '04

14 Mar '04

thanks for the note. I of course think eye pieces will be high on my priority list. thanks for the tips. I have already been web searching today and looking at some of these. The more I come to these star parties the more I'll see what I want. BTW, "M105-3bc-wherethehellisiteskimopie" is right next to the M31-mywife'sgoingtokillmeforspendingallthismoney super star cluster ! I think you've got a lot of takers on your idea for showing up early to get some basic astronomy lessons. I know I'll be sitting front row. When are we getting together again? St. George is out for me, but the pit n pole is great; don't know where the gravel pit is, but the warmer the weather gets and the clearer the skies, the more excited I am. I spent last night looking up at the new constellations I had learned about, what was visible, and binocularing the planets. It was fun! Thanks again your new friend John ----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Gibson<mailto:jimgibson00@yahoo.com> To: Utah Valley Astronomy Association<mailto:uvaa@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 2:43 PM Subject: [UVAA] John's new passion John That was a really funny post. I think you invented a new word and a new astronomical object. Collimation is what you do to align the optics of you telescope and Callimnation is what your wife does when she rubber stamps on your telescope. I am going to have to google up M105-3bc-wherethehellisiteskimopie on the web, but if its out there, Mike Bailey and Bob Taylor can find it. Tom can only find it if it's in the database in his hand control :)), but if it is in there, he will be the first to see it. You know by now that Mike is on this list and so is Tom Watson but I dont know about Bob Taylor, so his address is: robtaylor3661(a)comcast.net<mailto:robtaylor3661@comcast.net> . Tom keeps up with what is going on but he keep a very low profile. Your wrote: >I am a newbee and I feel kind of bad showing up and using other people's equipment >without contributing anything I have Dont feel bad, we all did it once and that is part of what Star Parties are for. We encourage people to come and try out as much as they like before they go and plunk down big $$ only to be disapointed. There are too many choices and maybe only a few of them are right for you. You will know after you have experienced a few things and have asked a lot of questions what is right for you. As for your list of items: A. A telescope--making a 10" dobson. B. A laser thingy just like Jim's. C. A pair of binoc's just like Tom's. D. An infared camera just like Bob's. E. An astronomer's torture chair just like Mike's. Next to your telescope, some of the most important things you can invest in are good eyepieces. I would suggest that you start looking at that before you look ad B, C, D, or E. Deciding on eyepieces will not be easy because if you ask questions about eyepieces you will get a variety of different answers. A Star Party is a good place to take a look at different eyepieces. Another good place to look for guidance would be in books. I would suggest getting The Backyard Astronomers Guide by Dickinson & Dyer. It covers a lot of basics including eyepieces, and there are other good books as well. You might want to consider starting with 3 eyepieces. One in the 25mm range, 12mm and 7mm. They dont have to be exactly those focal lengths but something near that and then you can decide how to fill the in-between ones later. For the shorter focal lengths (under 15mm) I would suggest the University Optics Orthoscopic eyepieces or Uos. They are known to focus really well in the center so they are good for planetary work and smaller deep sky objects. Brand new they run about $50.00 but you can get them used (but like new) for about $40.00 on Astromart (http://www.astromart.com/classifieds.asp?c=6&page=1<http://www.astromart.com/classifieds.asp?c=6&page=1>) In the longer focal lengths price may be the determining factor. AT Orion (good site)( www.telescope.com<http://www.telescope.com/>) you can by a 25mm Plossl for $33.00 See: http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=264&itemTyp…<http://www.telescope.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=264&itemTyp…> Or you could spend $620 for a 31mm Nagler at Anacortes (good site) http://www.buytelescopes.com/store.asp?s=2<http://www.buytelescopes.com/store.asp?s=2> See Nagler 31mm at: http://www.buytelescopes.com/search.asp?q=31mm+Nagler&s=2&x=14&y=9<http://www.buytelescopes.com/search.asp?q=31mm+Nagler&s=2&x=14&y=9> They all have there pros and cons besides price. My best advices for right now is to, SLOW DOWN. Come to Star Parties and look then figure out what it is going to take to placate your wife. There are some good resources right here on this list. Paul Witte, and Rich Tenney who run the UVAA web site (www.uvaa.org<http://www.uvaa.org/>) and Debbie Whitakar in St. George who is an amazing woman with a wonderful technical knowledge of about anything you would want to know about astronomy. That's only for starters. Have fun. Jim Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mailtag_us/*http://mail.yahoo.com> - More reliable, more storage, less spam_______________________________________________ UVAA mailing list UVAA(a)mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uvaa

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